


A Father-Daughter Talk

by FedMoose



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:00:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27290845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FedMoose/pseuds/FedMoose
Summary: Jeralt thinks Byleth might have her first crush. He's not sure how to handle it.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Seteth
Comments: 14
Kudos: 104





	A Father-Daughter Talk

Jeralt hesitated, his hand poised to knock on his daughter’s door. 

Goddess, how was he supposed to have this conversation? Briefly his eyes flicked down to the flask at his hip. Nah. He needed to be fresh for this. 

He rapped at the door, and in return he heard Byleth call out “It’s open.” Mildly. Of course. That was how she handled most things after all. 

Never seemed to get worked up over anything, good or bad. Never seemed to feel much one way or the other. He used to obsess over it, worried over what Rhea had done, or what he himself had done wrong to cause it.

Over time those worries had faded, replaced by fondness for his admittedly rather odd daughter. He learned her quiet language of companionable silence, the subtle nods that meant she was pleased or her slow blinks which meant irritation. 

He would have been happy to continue on like that forever, just Jeralt and Byleth against the world. But recently something had shifted, and now they had to talk. 

He pushed the door open.

Byleth looked up and gave a nod of greeting before bending her head back to something she was working on at her desk. 

“Whatcha got there, By?” 

She angled herself so he could look over her shoulder. A half-wrapped fishing float. 

Well, damn. That was as good a place to start as any.

“That a gift?” 

She nodded.

“Who’s it for?” he asked, although he was already sure he knew the answer.

“It’s for Seteth,” she replied. 

Jeralt moved over to the bed and sat. It was as good an opening as he could have asked for, but he had no idea how to continue. 

Byleth had never shown much interest in anyone growing up, and so he’d been able to skate by with dry explanations of biological facts. He’d never had to talk about… this. 

“You, uh. I notice you seem to end up around Seteth quite a bit.”

She stared back. 

“…and that you look his way when you think he’s not paying attention.”

A slow blink. 

“Ah hell kid, I’m no good at this. Do you, uh. Like him? Like… romantically?” he blurted. 

Byleth cast her eyes downward, then back up to meet Jeralt’s gaze. “I… don’t know?” 

Shit. This time he did reach for his flask, and took a quick swig. 

“All right. Okay. Let’s start with… why are you giving him a gift?” he prompted.

“I… want him to think well of me. And it makes him smile.”

Now they were getting somewhere. 

“Okay, you want to make him smile. And why do you end up staring after him all the time, kid?” 

She considered for a moment. Then, “He’s… tall. And he moves well. I’d like to see him in battle sometime.” 

Jeralt was taken aback. He’d never heard her comment on anyone’s physique before. She might as well have said she thought Seteth had a great ass.

“Hmm. Why a fishing float?”

There, a small quirk of the lips. The Byleth equivalent of an ear-to-ear grin. 

“He likes to fish. He doesn’t bait the line, but weighted floats make it easier to cast. He says they’re wonderful,” she replied. 

Uh oh. “Wait, you’ve given him a fishing float before?” 

She nodded. “I’ve given him three.” 

Jeralt was suddenly glad he’d finally forced himself to talk to her about this.

“Kid, you can’t just keep giving a person the same gift over and over again. They’ll think it’s weird.”

Byleth gave a small frown. “But he likes fishing, and he likes fishing floats.” 

“Sure, but if you keep only giving fishing floats, it starts to seem… well it seems like you’re not really interested in what the person likes outside of the one thing you already know,” he said gently. 

She cocked her head to the side, a trait she had exhibited since she was very young. It meant she was deep in thought. 

“So… I should try to think of a different gift,” she concluded. 

“Well, I think.. yeah, By. You clearly do like him. If you’re trying to make him happy and you think he’s-“ Jeralt coughed, “uh, handsome, and you want to get to know him better, then yeah. Try and think of something else. Maybe talk to him some more, find out more about what he likes.” 

Byleth nodded.

“Flayn said he likes ginger. Maybe I’ll get tea.” 

Jeralt smiled, and ruffled her hair. “That sounds good, kid.” 

Unexpectedly, Byleth swung an arm around his shoulder, and drew him into an awkward side hug. This was unprecedented. Jeralt tensed for a moment before relaxing, bewildered but happy.

“Thanks, Dad. For… for everything.”

Something really had shifted since they’d come to the monastery. He didn’t know what to think about playing wingman to his daughter, but if it came with moments like this… well. He supposed it was a good shift after all. 

“Always, kid. Anything you need, I’m here for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in a fugue state. Hope you enjoy, ha!


End file.
